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Peabody Energy, which suffered an underground fire at Shoal Creek in Alabama in late March, has confirmed that it has sealed two of its longwall panels in favor of a new location for production that it feels will offer better mining conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coal producer said the localized sealing of the panels in the J panel area has now been completed. It is now headed to the new L area, where it has already started development production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shoal Creek will remain in a ramp-up period throughout the rest of the year as it awaits delivery of a new longwall kit at the end of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peabody said it does not expect the current incident to have a material impact on the company’s 2023 financial results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It said in March that the fire was initially caused by void fill material utilized to stabilize the roof structure of the mine, and a same-day report from the miner said no flames were visible. All employees were safely evacuated, and an immediate idle went into effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shoal Creek, located near Jefferson, Walker and Tuscaloosa counties west of Birmingham, extracts coal from the Mary Lee and Blue Creek coal seams at depths of 1,000 to 1,300 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shoal Creek produced approximately 800,000 tons of coal in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n